House Republicans debated on Thursday whether conference rules changes should be considered before leadership elections next year during their last closed-door conference meeting ahead of the midterm elections.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have been ramping up pressure for the rules package to be taken up first after the group released a list of demands aimed at decentralizing power.
These demands include changes to ease the procedure to offer a “motion to vacate the chair,” a tactic aimed at deposing a sitting speaker; reforms to the powerful Steering Committee, which is tasked with choosing who sits on and leads committees; the reinstatement of the “Holman Rule,” which permits members to make targeted cuts to bureaucrats’ salaries; and a “majority of a majority” rule to pass bills.
The House “Freedom [Caucus] has people up pushing for it before leadership elections — Kevin [McCarthy] also clearly brought people to speak on his behalf,” one senior source in the room told the Washington Examiner during the meeting.
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS ISSUES RULE CHANGE DEMANDS TO LEADERSHIP FOR A GOP MAJORITY
Proponents are looking for the changes to be debated well in advance of the vote, something conservatives would like to see happen shortly after the new Congress gavels into session.
During the closed-door meeting, conservatives, including Reps. Bob Good (R-VA) and Chip Roy (R-TX), re-upped their calls for the move, which several conservatives advocated in a meeting earlier this month.
“We just want to go ahead and debate those now, come up with them as well as put some meat on the four pillars [of the GOP agenda], which is good,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said. “Right after [the new session starts], you don’t have time to consider them — so that’s all, and I think we’ll come to an agreement.”
The push comes as the Freedom Caucus plans to flex its muscle if the GOP takes back the majority in November, with the group planning to pressure leaders heavily to move policy to the right.
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McCarthy allies, including Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK), spoke out against the notion the rules changes should be discussed before the election during the open-mic portion of the meeting, arguing they should remain focused on the issues and taking back the majority.
“A lot of people are against talking about it. We need to stay focused on the election,” one senior GOP lawmaker said. “One of the things that we’re claiming is that it’s a secret rules package, but I think it’s like on the website and Republicans — everybody has copies of everything.”
